Who were they? Archives help paint picture of American Indian students being disinterred

"In his stay with us of less than two years George Ell had endeared himself to all who knew him - ever faithful, kind and true.

"All was done for the dear boy as he lay on his bed of sickness that human agency could contrive but in spite of every effort and skill and patience, although at times there was a shadow of hope, the flow of lifeblood continued until he peaceably passed away."

The same publication that reported George Ell's death - "Indian Helper" - also stated that his friends paid for his tombstone out of love for the boy.

That was in 1891, and this week, George Ell and three other students of the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School will be returned to their families in Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.

On Thursday, the Army National Military Cemeteries group will begin the solemn task of disinterring the remains of George Ell, also known as George Eli, of the Blackfeet Piegan Nation; Little Plume, also known as Hayes Vanderbilt Friday, of the Northern Arapaho; Herbert Little Hawk, also known as both Herbert J. Littlehawk and Good Boy, of the Oglala Sioux; and Her Pipe Woman, also known as Dora Brave Bull, of the Standing Rock Sioux.

Little Plume was part of the first disinterment last year along with two other Northern Arapaho children. While archaeologists were successful in finding the remains of Little Chief and Horse, the remains in the grave marked for Little Plume actually contained the bones of two other unidentified students.

The Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center at Dickinson College has been digitizing photographs, records and publications about the school for the last five years. With 250,000 documents scanned so far, they still have a lot of work to do to help fill in the blanks about the school and the children who attended.

Some of the estimated 10,000 children who attended in the late 19th and early 20th centuries are prominently featured in photographs and documents. Very little has been written about others beyond their attendance records.

Here's what the records show about the four who will be disinterred this week:

Little Plume:

Perhaps the least is known about Little Plume. He is pictured in a group photo of Northern Arapaho students arriving at the school in 1881.

Records show he was just 9 years old when he arrived. His father's name is listed as Bill Friday, and he worked as a butcher.

Little Plume died about a year after his arrival on April 15, 1882.

Dora Brave Bull:

Like Little Plume, she appeared in one group photo, but there were a few more documents in the archives at Dickinson College about her.

Dora was the daughter of Brave Bull, and she arrived at the school at the age of 16. According to a letter in her file from a physician, Dora entered the hospital with "a condition of the lung."

She began improve, and was soon to return to her duties at the school when she contracted the measles. The disease ran its course but left her open to bronchitis, which was "more than she could endure."

George Ell:

George Ell was mentioned in a few articles from publications at the Indian School's on-site printing press. It doesn't reveal much about how the 17-year-old of the Blackfeet Piegans lived, but it does detail how he died.

And the impact he left on his friends.

One mention of Ell states that, while jumping, a blood-vessel in his lungs burst. He died three weeks later.

At his funeral service, his casket was covered "with the choicest of flowers," and the friends who followed his remains to his grave were in "deep and sincere mourning."

It was those friends who purchased a tombstone "in memory of the love in which he was held."

Herbert Littlehawk:

Herbert Littlehawk attended the school for 10 years, arriving when he was 16. He died at the age of 26 of pneumonia, but not before he left quite an impact on his fellow students, teachers and the community.

According to the archives, Littlehawk died of pneumonia in October 1895. His memorial service was held in the school's chapel, and "just as the chill twilight of an October day was gathering, all that was mortal of Herbert Littlehawk was returned to the earth."

In his death, the school "lost a trusted companion, a most promising young man."

The article went on to describe Littlehawk:

"His fine carriage, straight-forward manner and clear, courageous eye bespoke him a man of honor, and one whose influence would be felt by those about him."

He arrived at the school with the Sioux name Hok-si-ia wash-te, which means "Good Boy." He hardly spoke a word of English when he first arrived, but he was studious, curious and diligent in his work.

He picked up the trade of harness making, according to the archives, and was part of the school's Invincible Debating Society and was active in the local YMCA.

"He loved knowledge for its own sake; that it was a potent means to help others, made it precious to him," the publication reported.

The speakers included the Carlisle Indian School's founder, Richard Pratt.

"The most prominent traits of Herbert's character were excellence, strength and growth," Pratt said at the service. "To those of us who knew him during the whole ten years of his Carlisle school life, these qualities were especially plain."

Littlehawk, Pratt said, lived by the guiding principle, "I will be a gentleman."

In preparation for the disinterment, the Carlisle Barracks cemetery along Claremont Road will be closed to visitors and blocked off with privacy fencing.

And officials hope this will be part of the healing process for the families.

"The Army anticipates brining closure to four Native American families whose sacrifice is known to only a few," said Karen Durham-Aguilera, executive director of the Army National Military Cemeteries. "Our objective is to reunite the families with their children in a manner of utmost dignity and respect."

And it is a complicated history. Some students were captured and forced to attend. Others were sent to the school by their tribes following negotiations between the chiefs and the U.S. government. Still others, whose parents had attended, went voluntarily to learn how to read, write and speak English.

It was often a difficult and traumatic transition from tribal life to the military-style regimen of the Carlisle Indian School. The children's traditional clothing was replaced with uniforms. Their hair was cut, they were forbidden to speak their language or practice their customs and they took on new names.

According to records, Pratt believed the American Indians could be equal to the whites, but in order for this to happen, Pratt felt the school had to eradicate everything about the children that was Indian.